Faber with a big takedown and Cruz tentative early feeling out the challenger. Cruz connects on a few consecutive jabs to gain some momentum at end of Round 1. Cruz knocks Faber down with another straight left to open the second. Cruz in-and-out game sparked again in the fourth as he knocked Faber down for the second time. It was a classic Cruz performance the rest of the way en route to a unanimous decision win.

Holloway avoided Lamas' takedowns with ease. Ducking in and out while Lamas threw at air and connecting on counters by using his distance perfectly. Holloway swept the scorecards for his ninth straight win.

Dan Henderson defeats Hector Lombard Henderson and Lombard each exchange a big blow that sends crowd into frenzy in 1st Round. Lombard piles on but Henderson survives. Henderson catches a Lombard legs and knocks him out with an elbow to the temple.

They said it:Dan Henderson: “I try not to make my fights quite that epic. I’ve done it before, but I try not to let it go that way, but sometimes it happens like that. This is the first time all of my kids have been here to watch me fight, I’m happy I got to share this with them. It’s definitely an emotional night and it’s definitely a possibility that this was my last time in the Octagon. We’ll see what happens from here.”

Poirier continuously landed shots while Green kept asking for more. Poirier eventually connects on the final blow and knocks out Green for his third 1st round knockout in his last four fights.

They said it:Dustin Poirier: “I feel great. I get to go home and become a father now. That’s the next big part of my life, my wife is having our first child in two months. I needed this; we needed this. A big fight is coming next. I’ve been doing this a long time and I want big fights. I want to be the world champion.”

UFC 199: Rockhold vs Bisping 2 FS1 prelims

Brian Ortega defeats Clay Guida Guida knocks down Ortega with a left early but he rises right back up. Ortega finds groove in second and third and connects with counters, eventually knocking out Guida with a knee in the final round.

They said it:Brian Ortega: “I don’t know why I tend to be a slow starter, I have to pull the inner me out. I’m really emotional right now, I’ve been going through a lot lately. My friend died, I almost died – this really means a lot to me and I don’t know how to put it into words.”

Dariush knocks Vick down with a big left hook and mounts for some ground and pound but Vick survives only to get knocked out minutes later.

They said it:Beneil Dariush: “That win was about a lot of things. It was about being redeemed. I had been feeling stagnant and I’ve been praying for something to change and God gave me that something. I hope it’s not anger; I hope it’s spirit. I train with a lot of spirit and hopefully that’s just transitioning into the Octagon as well. I don’t care who’s next, I don’t care about rankings; just keep throwing them at me and I’ll fight them all.”

Jessica Andrade defeats Jessica Penne Andrade maintains Octagon control through all of Round 1, connecting on bursts of combos and eventually knocks Penne down as the bell sounds. Andrade's onslaught continued in the second and she earns a TKO win.

They said it:Jessica Andrade: “I felt great. I think I am in the proper weight class now, I feel strong and confident and I am sure that 115-pounds is the place for me. I guess that a win over Jessica Penne should put me in the top-10. I felt very strong and I feel that this was my best fight in the UFC. I was very focused during this camp because I knew my opponent was very tough. I was supposed to fight Carla Esparza on the May 29 card, but she didn’t want to fight me. I want her on the next Brazil card!”

Caceres stuns Miller early and continues to connect throughout Round 1. Caceres avoids Miller's clinches and takedown attempts, throwing him to the ground three times, while continuously landing shots in the second. Miller almost finishes the fight with an armbar in Round 3 but Caceres holds on for the unanimous decision win.

They said it:Alex Caceres: “I want to be a hero for the future; for my children and my children’s children. To do that, I have to embrace my dreams. We’re given a new opportunity every day and it is our responsibility to take it. I know a lot of people thought I was crazy for taking the fight on short notice, but it’s not short notice when you train every day. This is my job and I love it. I don’t care who, when or where I fight next, but I hope it’s soon and I’m going to enjoy it.”Cole Miller: “Guys not going to the ground with me is a product of what I’ve already done and accomplished. They respect and fear my ground game so they all just stand and bang with me – that’s what Max Holloway did and it’s what Alex did tonight. The armbar wasn’t close, it was locked in but I couldn’t get a good angle on it – it was a good escape though.”

UFC 199: Rockhold vs Bisping 2 FIGHT PASS prelims

Strickland tags Breese a few times to start Round 2. The two continue exchanging on the feet for all three rounds, without much damage done to either fighter. Strickland takes it with a split decision.

They said it:Sean Strickland: “This is my 18th or 19th fight and I like to take things one fight at a time, but every time I get out there I get more and more confident. My skills improve each time out and I just want to continue to build off of that. Whatever the UFC has in store for me, I’m ready for it.”Tom Breese: “I thought I landed the cleaner, harder shots. I have to go back and watch it again. Coming off of a loss, I need to get back in the gym and improve my skills and then get back in there and move on.”

Round 1 is back and forth with Silva landing kicks and clinch work and Wilson connecting with punches. Silva connects on a big uppercut and gets Wilson against the fence but he survives and later knocks Silva down with a barrage of left hooks. Silva flips positions and ends the fight with a TKO.

They said it:Henrique da Silva: “I got knocked down in the second, but I was able to get full guard and was able to sweep him. From there, I just started pounding until the fight was over. We were both tired, so I knew it was going to end before the bell. Whoever I fight next, I want to get a proper knockout while we’re standing up. That’s not how I wanted to win and it’s not how I’ve been performing lately, but Jonathan is a tough guy.”

Casey earns takedowns and maintains control in top position for much of Round 1, without inflicting any damage. Casey gets his second takedown in Round 2. Mutapcic is active in the third in the clinch and the fight ends in a split draw.

They said it:Elvis Mutapcic: “I knew he was going to be motivated. Muhammed Ali is the greatest of all time and that’s his father-in-law. I feel like Kevin had a little more to prove because he married into the family and he was going to want to make a statement. I knew it was going to be rough at first and that I’d have to pick it up in the second. I was a little too eager and he did a good job of not giving me any space. He did a lot of damage in the first, but he didn’t do any in the second or third. I’d like to get back in there as soon as possible, I feel like I’m a better fighter when I stay active. I want CM Punk, he’s sitting on his butt and taking my money and I don’t feel like he’s done anything to deserve to be signed by the UFC. I want to separate the contenders from the pretenders and he’s a pretender.”

Kim and Reyes exchange blows on the feet for all of Round 1, earning loud applause from The Forum fans throughout. Much of the same in Round 2, with each fighter barely surviving at multiple points. Reyes finally ends the war with a knockout punch in the final round.

UFC Connected is a monthly magazine show that profiles the fighters and events from the worlds leading MMA promotion. In this episode we ‘Take 5’ with UFC analyst Dan Hardy and find out what European fighters he believes are ones to watch in 2018.

20-feb-2018

Israel Adesanya's Octagon debut was arguably the most anticipated since two weight world champion Conor McGregor. "The Last Stylebender" impressed with a second-round TKO win vs. Rob Wilkinson and spoke about his performance.

10-feb-2018

Go backstage at UFC 221 with Yoel Romero after his victory in Perth, Australia over Luke Rockhold. Romero talks to UFC correspondent Megan Olivi about the huge win.